The Support Ate it All - Chapter 181: 9th Week Midterms (5)

I saw Cha Hyeon-joo’s weapon and asked her a question.

“Weren’t you supposed to be a dagger rogue? What happened to your daggers? Why are you holding a bow?”

Cha Hyeon-joo had used dual daggers during duel battles to hide her true abilities and only switched to her main weapon a bow after the replays were made private.

But now, during the actual midterm exam, she had shown up with the bow.

Cha Hyeon-joo answered through clenched teeth.

“I ditched them, because of you.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes!”

I felt a little proud.

 

If things had gone as planned, she would have wasted a lot of time on those daggers, but thanks to me, she hadn’t.

 

Sometimes, Wind Force brings about positive changes like this.

“Good thinking. Cha Hyeon-joo, the bow suits you much better than daggers.”

“Shut up.”

Cha Hyeon-joo kept growling, but I casually continued asking questions.

“But how did you know to come here?”

“You think I’d tell you?”

“Seems like you’ve got some kind of detector or something, am I right?”

“…….”

Judging by her reaction, I was right.

In truth, I had already formed a near-certain suspicion.

No matter how promising or sharp-eyed a long-range class might be, it would be difficult to spot us from such a far distance and pursue us like this.

So the likelihood that she used an item was high, and there were indeed various “detectors” among the survival items provided in supply boxes.

“I want one of those detectors. You must have come here because you want something too.”

“The crystal.”

“I figured. That makes things simple. The winner—”

“—takes it all.”

Cha Hyeon-joo swiftly nocked an arrow on her bowstring and aimed it at me.

At that moment, it seemed like a thin blue line targeted the center of her forehead, but she immediately fired the arrow to counter the incoming magic bullet.

Thud—!

The fragments of the arrow and magic bullet scattered in the air.

Her reflexes were impressive, just as expected of someone with her potential.

Cha Hyeon-joo jerked her chin toward the direction from which the shot had come and muttered a word.

“Get them.”

Her male partner began to move, but I stepped in front of him.

“You can’t.”

“…….”

“A quick introduction before we start?”

“Kang Hee-chan.”

“Kim Ho.”

Kang Hee-chan was a typical warrior class with a longsword.

His offense and defense were well-balanced, and I guessed his skill level was somewhere around 600 points range.

Without seeing any value in exchanging more than just names, Kang Hee-chan immediately swung his longsword at me.

I dodged easily and prepared to counterattack when—

Swish-swish-swish!

Cha Hyeon-joo suddenly unleashed a barrage of arrows.

Seven aimed at me and three to keep Seo Ye-in in check.

It was a well-calculated move to disrupt her sniping.

Among the flying arrows, I noticed some peculiar ones mixed in.

Those are going to explode.

When I recognized them as explosive arrows, I decided to widen the gap as I dodged instead of just slipping away.

Booom!

“Tch.”

Cha Hyeon-joo clicked her tongue briefly. As if she was frustrated that her ploy had failed.

She then unleashed an even more relentless shower of arrows.

Swish-swish-swish!

Kang Hee-chan who was supported by Cha Hyeon-joo’s cover fire relentlessly pressed me with continuous attacks.

Judging by how well they coordinated, it seemed they had teamed up several times before.

I was busy dodging both the arrows and the longsword, so I had to keep moving.

Just as a shot aimed between Kang Hee-chan’s eyebrows flew in—

Thud—!

Cha Hyeon-joo precisely hit the magic bullet and knocked it down.

I couldn’t help but silently admire her skill.

“Your personality and your skills don’t really match, do they?”

“I told you to shut up!”

Swish-swish-swish!

A downpour of arrows rained down, followed by an endless stream of sword strikes.

I dodged and weaved while continually retreating.

Thud—!

And then, Cha Hyeon-joo intercepted the third shot mid-air.

It wasn’t just about her reflexes; the skills and traits Cha Hyeon-joo had accumulated over time were simply superior to Seo Ye-in’s.

Seo Ye-in only had [Magic Bullet] and [Ejection] to assist with her sniping.

What will you do now?

By now, even Seo Ye-in must have realized that invisible ghillie sniping wouldn’t work.

It would be interesting to see what decision she makes next.

So, let’s stall for just a little longer.

Clang! Clang!

I deflected Kang Hee-chan’s continuous strikes with Root and summoned a storm cloud to fend them off.

At the same time, I moved in a zigzag pattern to dodge Cha Hyeon-joo’s arrows.

Kang Hee-chan frowned deeply.

“I think I understand why Hyeon-joo hates you so much.”

“It’s frustrating when we don’t get along.”

“Honestly, that’s… true!”

Whooosh!

I dodged the longsword swinging diagonally toward me and retreated to a safer distance.

While doing so, I glanced to the side and signaled with my eyes.

“You guys really have no joy in life. Take a look around. There’s a squirrel up in that tree and a lake right beside us. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

As I continued retreating, dodging, and fleeing, I found myself far from the starting point of the battle.

Just as I mentioned, a large lake beside us reflected the setting sun.

But was there really a need to bring up the lake in the middle of a fight?

This too was part of my plan.

To briefly distract Cha Hyeon-joo and Kang Hee-chan,

Ratatatatatata!

So Seo Ye-in could seize that opening.

She shed her invisible ghillie suit and appeared before firing her assault rifle in rapid succession.

Startled by the sudden barrage of magic bullets, Cha Hyeon-joo hurriedly tried to reposition herself, but Seo Ye-in had appeared too close.

A couple of magic bullets that Cha Hyeon-joo couldn’t dodge slammed into her.

“Ugh.”

Cha Hyeon-joo hadn’t expected Seo Ye-in who had been sniping from a distance to approach so closely, and she was visibly caught off guard.

Even so, she quickly regained her composure and began to counterattack.

Swish-swish-swish!

A long-range bombardment ensued.

This time, a barrage of arrows rained down on Seo Ye-in.

The distance between them was close enough that Cha Hyeon-joo couldn’t avoid all the magic bullets, and in the same way, Seo Ye-in wouldn’t be able to dodge all the arrows and would take some damage.

But contrary to this expectation, Seo Ye-in stepped forward with Feather Walk.

In an instant, her eyes flashed and she slipped her body through a very narrow gap between the rain of arrows.

She then raised her assault rifle again and fired in rapid succession.

Ratatatatatata!

She’s too good.

A one-sided exchange of attacks using bullet time.

Cha Hyeon-joo was hit all over her body by the barrage of magic bullets.

“……!”

As the cover fire momentarily ceased, I pushed off the ground and widened the distance between myself and Kang Hee-chan.

Kang Hee-chan tried to close the gap immediately, but it wasn’t as easy as he intended.

Whoosh—

A whirlwind bound him in place.

The wind gathered around him. It compressed before exploding.

Boom!

“Urgh.”

Kang Hee-chan staggered on the spot and fell to one knee.

As he took a few labored breaths and lifted his head, Seo Ye-in stood there; her gun was aimed at him with an indifferent expression on her face.

Ratatatatatatatata!

Kang Hee-chan was rendered incapacitated and was expelled, leaving the space backpack he had been carrying behind.

All the items were probably stored there.

Seo Ye-in and I turned our attention to the last remaining person.

Thud.

Despite being hit by so many magic bullets, Cha Hyeon-joo still managed to keep her wits about her.

She glared at me while gritting her teeth.

I had to give her credit for her determination.

I rummaged through Kang Hee-chan’s space bag and pulled out a detector.

“Since we won, we’ll be taking this. Thank you.”

“You son of a bitch. Don’t think you’ll get any rest during these midterms. No matter where you are—”

Boom!

Compressed air exploded, and Cha Hyeon-joo was sent flying in an arc.

She landed right in the middle of the lake next to us.

Splash—!

Water erupted high into the air.

A moment later, a drenched seaweed-like figure floated to the surface.

Sharp eyes glared at us from amidst the seaweed.

She really looked like a vengeful spirit from the water.

Seo Ye-in stared at her blankly for a moment, then,

Ratatatatatata!

She fired her assault rifle at Cha Hyeon-joo again.

“Hey, why are you shooting at her?”

“She said a bad word.”

“…Hmm. Bad words aren’t allowed. Shoot a little more.”

Ratatatatatata!

Cha Hyeon-joo swam to the opposite shore and narrowly avoided the barrage of magic bullets.

She turned around to glare at us again, but when Seo Ye-in aimed her gun at her, she quickly retreated.

We didn’t bother to chase after her.

Kang Hee-chan had been declared incapacitated and wouldn’t be returning for another six hours, plus we had taken all their survival items.

Cha Hyeon-joo would have to face the night in that condition.

Cold, hungry, and sleepy hours awaited her.

Let her suffer a bit.

[Crystal Detector]

[Calorie Bar] x2

The Crystal Detector was an item that allowed us to detect nearby crystals every 12 hours.

Additionally, charged crystals sparkled with a special glow, which was likely why Cha Hyeon-joo had been chasing us so desperately.

We only found two calorie bars again this time, but with the other rations we had from supply boxes, it was enough to fill our stomachs for now.

“Still, living on calorie bars for three days straight isn’t very good. Let’s cook something tomorrow; maybe grill some fish.”

“Sounds good.”

Seo Ye-in nodded her head.

We were about to head out to charge Red Crystal No. 2 when,

“How much battery do you have left?”

“Fourteen …”

The intense battle just now had drained the sloth battery considerably.

There might not be an issue on the way to the sanctuary, but there was a high chance it would run out on the way back.

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Mhmm…”

So, we decided to find a place to rest.

Near the lake, there was a small rocky hill that wasn’t too tall.

If you climbed it halfway and looked carefully between the jagged rocks, there was a gap just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

The gap led to a small, cozy cave.

It seemed like a cave made specifically for resting.

Similar shelters were scattered throughout the island.

This was also part of the midterm exam, as carefully examining minor details within the dungeon could be beneficial for both obtaining crystals and survival.

For dinner, we had some tree fruits and calorie bars.

As we took bites of the calorie bars outside, the night quickly fell, and the surroundings grew dark.

We laid out two sleeping bags inside and set up an alarm trap outside.

Without the trap, we would have had to take turns keeping watch.

We used a charged red crystal for light.

If the light had been yellow, it might have created a bit of a mood, but since it was red, it felt more like a butcher shop.

Nothing I can do about it.

“Sleep well.”

“Mhmm…”

Leaving Seo Ye-in’s response behind, I closed my eyes inside the sleeping bag.

“…….”

***

Seo Ye-in lay in her sleeping bag and stared at the cave ceiling with half-open eyes.

Though sleepiness overwhelmed her, she couldn’t easily fall asleep.

The main reason was the absence of the tiger plushie she had slept with every night.

Now that it was gone, its absence felt even bigger.

“…….”

Seo Ye-in who had been tossing and turning turned her head and looked at Kim Ho’s face.

He had already fallen into a deep sleep.

As she stared at him, Seo Ye-in suddenly recalled what had happened during the day.

– Get on my back. Let’s go down slowly.

– Are you a sloth, Kim sloth? Get down. Quickly.

She had ridden on Kim Ho’s back as they descended from the old tree, and for some reason, the comfort she felt made her stay on his back a little longer even after they reached the ground.

“…….”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head for a moment, then as if she had some thought, she dragged her sleeping bag closer to Kim Ho.

Then she gently leaned her head against his sleeping bag.

“……..!”

Seo Ye-in’s eyes widened slightly.

A sudden sense of comfort! The word flashed through her mind.

Seo Ye-in went ahead and moved her sleeping bag right next to Kim Ho’s before leaning her head against him.

As soon as she closed her eyes like that, she quickly fell into a deep sleep…

***

TN: That’s what I’m talking about!